BLEACHERS BREW EST. MAY 2006

Someone asked me how my blog and newspaper column came to be titled "Bleachers Brew". It's like this, it's an amalgam of sorts of two things: The bleachers area in the stadium/arena where I used to sit when I would watch baseball, football, and basketball games and Miles Davis' great jazz album Bitches Brew. That's how it got culled together. I originally planned on calling it "The View from the Big Chair" that is a nod to Tears For Fear's second album, Songs from the Big Chair. So there.

Thursday, December 8, 2016

I
must say, however, that this is the first finals loss where I do not feel bad.

In
2001, I felt bad. That was prolonged agony. In 2006, I really felt crushed
because we shouldn’t have lost that series and it was in such heartbreaking
fashion.

This
2016? My heart is swelling with pride. Against a juggernaut team that is La
Salle? This must be how all the other schools felt when we were killing them
during the five-peat – that a loss was all but inevitable and a sure thing
aside death and taxes. Remember when Larry Bird boldly strode into the locker
room prior to the 1988 Three-Point Shootout on All-Star Weekend and asked who
was playing for second? It was this sort of season for La Salle.

It’s
fine. Besides, we blemished what should have been a perfect season for them and
put the scare of God into them in Game One. Game Two was where their
experience, depth, and talent came into play.

The
game is done.

There
are two numbers – not exactly statistics if you will -- that we should be mindful
and consider for the future.

The
first is the Ateneo Blue Eagles finished in second place. I believe I do not
have to explain what happened before and during the season overcoming all that
adversity and what. Repeating it is like reciting a litany of sorrowful
mysteries. Second place is as good as first considering other teams were figured
to be here.

And
second, is three and two.

Yes,
three and two. Matt and Mike Nieto, Adrian Wong, Aaron Black, Thirdy Ravena,
and Isaac Go have three more playing years to go. Jolo Mendoza and Raffy Verano
will have four more.

Now
that is a solid eight-man rotation that will flat out kill foes for years to
come. The pieces have fallen into place and we just need to add a few more here
and there.

Last
year, they got a taste of Final Four action. This year, it was the Finals. So young and yet, so competitive and filled to bursting with potential. Experience
is the best teacher. And speaking of teachers, we’ve got a terrific coach in
Tab Baldwin.

After
Isaac Go committed that unwarranted foul in the endgame to send La Salle to
the line, he went up to coach. They talked. He placed his head on his coach who
reciprocated by giving him a playful tap on the cheek.

That
moment for me was the season in a capsule – the raw talent, the lack of
experience, the great teacher, and the right kind of compassion.

And
that leads me to the last thing I’d like to say.

If
you went up from the Ateneo Grade school to High School, and to College, there
is this prayer – that was written by American poet Berton Braley and
popularized by the Nebraska Cornhusker’s Football Team -- that we were taught
to recite.

Dear
Lord, the battle we go through in life,

We
ask for a chance that’s fair,

A
chance to equal our strides,

A
chance to do or dare,

If
we should win,

Let
it be by the code,

With
faith and honor held high,

If
we should lose,

We’ll
stand by the road,

and
cheer as the winners go by.

The
game is done. And right up to the very end, the Ateneo Blue Eagles gave it that
One Big Fight. They played the game the right way and with the right conduct. Now
that is all we ever ask... win or lose.

AMDG. OBF.

Posted by
Rick Olivares

4 comments:

Ateneo saw Ben coming many miles away (well, from seasons back). I still would say, without Mbala, Teng could not and would not be able to carry this team. Mbala alone made all the difference. He's not just an import like the other schools (save for UE) have, he's the mvp. So lesson learned too I guess for Ateneo (who probably thought they could do the same thing to Dlsu what they did to Ust and Kareem) they need someone to check Ben. Go couldn't do it alone. And Ikeh isn't in the same mold. Whoever is taking care of our recruitment, Ateneo shouldn't lose that Perpetual import to La Salle. Otherwise, expect them to go for Ateneo's record if not try to surpass (as if that isn't at the back of their heads since they first came back to relevance again in 2013) the 5-peat.

Those rules were there before MBala showed up. The standard is one year residency. The second year was in retaliation for your stupid fostering of the eligibility rules. The third was for accepting money playing in Pacquaio's league.